I Know Her
by maggienhawk
Summary: Sara and Warrick share a breakfast full of revelations. Warrick POV, WS friendship, some GSR.


**Title: I Know Her**

**Author: Maggienhawk**

**Disclaimer: Trust me, if they were mine, none of you would get to play with them. I would keep them locked up in my basement for my entertainment only. I never did share well.**

**Summary: Sara and Warrick share a breakfast full of revelations. Warrick POV, WS friendship, some GSR.**

**A/N: Where are all these stories coming from? For some reason my muse is working overtime on the W/S friendship. Oh, and it helps when I get great reviews. One of these days, the muse going to make me write a W/S romance and I'm not going to be prepared for it…said muse almost ran away with this one.**

            "So what makes you think that women always know that their man is cheating?"

            I look at her confused, "What the hell are you talking about?"

            She smiles, knowing that she's done it again. She's started a conversation without a prompt. One minute ago we were talking about country music, and now she's asking me this.

            "A few months ago, you said that women always know when their man is straying, and I never got around to making you explain why, if, as you said, you are not the voice of experience."

            "Oh, I remember that now." During the annual Law Enforcement Desert Relay we worked a case together. The wife of a cop shot her husband and the woman she thought he was having an affair with. "Well, I can honestly say no woman of mine has ever had the chance to know if I'm cheating. I really am a nice guy."

            "And as I said before, I believe that. But what made you come to the conclusion that we always know?"

            "My mother always knew when her boyfriends were sleeping with other women." Sometimes she could hear it in the next room, I remember, but that's another story for another time.

            She cocks her head to the right and says with a smile on her face, "Your mother? I've never heard you talk about her, just your grandmother."

            Damn. I knew she would begin to ask questions. Every reason for never mentioning my mom is passing through the conscious part of my brain right now, but with Sara sitting here, I'll never be able to get up from this table without her knowing something about her. This is what I get for having criminalists for friends.

            "I don't talk about her much. As far as I'm concerned, my grandmother raised me. My mother, well, she got into _situations_ and would leave for months at a time. It amazes me that the only problem I have is gambling. She was into everything, and could tolerate almost anything. Except when her man was cheating on her. She would drop the flavor of the month as soon as she figured it out."

            "Smart woman." She smiles and I know the amount of information I gave her was sufficient to ease her curiosity. "But just because she knew doesn't mean every woman knows."

            Always the provoker. The way she says it, though, it seems as though she knows of an instance where I'm wrong. But, nonetheless, I still feel the need to defend my position. "Everyone one of my female friends since I was about, oh, eighteen that had been cheated on, knew. They said as much when they were told."

            She looks at me with a sort of pain in her eyes. I always know when she's going to tell me something big. It's in her eyes. Let me tell you, when she confessed for the first time that she was practically in love with Grissom, there was such emotion in her eyes that I knew twenty minutes before she said a word that there was going to be a major revelation during that breakfast. This is going to be another one of those breakfasts.

            "I didn't know," she said as she turned her head to look out the diner's window.

            Damn, again. For all this girl has been through, the last thing she needs is some asshole cheating on her. "You didn't know that someone was cheating on you?" I ask softly.

            She looks back to me with a sad expression on her face. "Technically, he was cheating on his girlfriend with me. But, I didn't know I was playing mistress and it still hurt all the same."

            I sat there silently, trying to figure out if I know the person. But Sara has only openly dated one man since moving to Las Vegas – Hank. "Who…"

            "Hank," she interrupted.

            "That's what I thought." Scumbag.

            "I found out during that case at The Checkerbox, you remember? The one with kamikaze granny?" I nod my head and she continues, "He was having lunch with her when the car hit. I found out when I had to interview her at her home."

            "I am so sorry, but…why didn't you tell me? You know I would have been there for you." And I really would have, in a heartbeat. And in the next available heartbeat, I would have found his ass and beat the shit out of him for lying to her.

            I reach across the table, and gently grab her hand as she shakes her head. "I was too ashamed. I felt really dumb and stupid that I had let him deceive me like that. He betrayed me, and after him and Melissa's case, I just felt I could have any faith in anybody. Two people I completely trusted were able to betray me. I didn't like the feeling."

            Oh, I could kill Hank now. Sara doesn't just pass around her friendship and trust. You have to earn it. Trust me, I know. It took me a long time. And he's able to make her take all of her trust out of everyone. No wonder she's been so distant the past year.

            Betraying the emotions I'm feeling, I just simply nod my head and say, "You deserve so much better than a cheating scumbag like Hank."

            She laughs a little, "You know I've thought that, but lately I've began to wonder if that's even true."

            "It is." Why would she even think that?

            She smiles a little smile, and we sit in silence for a few minutes.

            I decide to break the silence with a joke. It always works to make her laugh. "I guess I was wrong about women…again."

            She brakes into a fit of laughter, and I soon follow. Mission accomplished.

            Once we calm down, I sigh and say softly, "I'm probably always wrong about women because I had such a poor example of women this age in my life. Not all women are cokeheads and prostitutes."

            She raises an eyebrow, "I sure as hell hope not, because I wouldn't be very good at either."

            I smile, knowing that she really wouldn't be good at either, and she smiles right back at me.

            She sighs a little, and then asks, "Where is your mother now?"

            "Dead." Good riddance.

            Startled by my bluntness, she jerks her head back a little, and pulls her hand from my grasp unconsciously.

            I'm slightly confused at her reaction, but then I realize that she has never seen me have no respect for the dead, so I decide to explain why she's dead, and why I'm still mad at her.            

            "Sorry, it's just that she died in an alcohol related car accident when I was fourteen. She had a blood alcohol content of 0.19. Killed a young mother and her nine month old daughter. I have very little remorse for someone who has such little concern for the well being of herself and others."

            She hangs her head again. "Oh."

            Uh oh. Something I said was not good. She looks like she's being accused of something, and that she's also guilty of the accusation. . "Hey," I say quietly, urging her to look up at me, "what's wrong?"

            Her eyes widen, and she quickly says that nothing is wrong, but she begins to stand up to leave. "I've got to get going." I have never seen her avoid a question as much as she is right now. Not even when I confronted her about Grissom.

            "Whoa, hold on a second. Something's got you shaken, and I want you to tell me what's going on," I grab her arm lightly, hoping to stop her from running off.

            "Warrick, I really need to go now." She pulls out of my grasp and walks quickly out of the diner.

            I run after her after throwing a few bills on the table to cover our food. She's already to her car and climbing in when I reach the front door of the diner. "Sara! Wait up!"

            Thankfully, she stops and turns towards my voice, and I notice the tears running down her face. What is going on? Deciding it's the wrong time to ask that, I pull her into a strong hug.

            She begins to sob on my shoulder.

            I have to say I have never seen Sara Sidle cry this much. A few tears here and there, but not full out sobs. And it's safe to say I've been one of her best friends for about three years.

            A few minutes pass, and I push her away from me gently, although still keeping her shoulders grasped firmly in my hands. "What's going on with you, Sara?"

            She looks up to me with sad, pathetic eyes. I can tell this isn't going to be good at all. I reach up with one of my hands and gently wipe the saline drops from her cheeks, silently urging her to answer.

            "You won't want to hear it. You just said it."

            I just said what?! I'm so confused, again. One minute we're talking about my lack of remorse for my mother's drinking and driving induced death, and the next, she's running…wait a minute. No way…

            I look down at her, and she knows that I just figured it out. "You drank and drove?"

            She barely nods, and she looks away from me, and I can completely understand why she would. I just basically told her that I could never have any remorse for her. But that is not true at all. And I need to get her to understand that.

            Before I can say anything, she begins to talk. "It happened after the Parker case. You, Nick and I went out for some drinks. Well, I drove home."

            Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm mentally kicking myself for this right now. "Sara…"

            I can't finish what I'm saying because she continues, "I got pulled over, and they made me do the breathalyzer. Point oh nine. Just over the limit. They had to take me in. But they didn't charge me."

            Obviously, seeing as she still has her job. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

            "Because I was afraid you would react in the way that you did."

            I look at her seriously. "Sara, listen. My mom was a completely different person than you are. Sometimes, I wonder if she deserved to die the way she did, a result of her irresponsible actions.  And yes, there is a part of me that kind of wants to strangle you for being irresponsible. But I'm more concerned that I let you walk away that night, and get into your car. I knew that you had a couple of beers with us, and I also knew that you were having a really rough couple of days, if not months. So I'm madder right now at me, for not being the friend I was supposed to be."

            She started crying again, and leaned her head against my shoulder. "I really thought you would hate me for what I did."

            "Never." And I really could never hate her. She's special to me, almost like the sister I never had.

            After a few moments, she calms down again. I lift up her chin and look her right in the eyes, a smile on my face, "You do realize, though, if I ever find out you do that again, I will come find you and beat you up, right?"

            She smiles, knowing full well that the warning is true, but that I'm just trying to make her feel better about it.

            One thing is bugging me though about the whole situation and I figure that she is the only one that can clear it up. "So, who picked you up that morning?"

            She laughs at the question. "You aren't going to believe this. Because they didn't charge me, they conveniently call Grissom."

            I begin to laugh along with her. Of all the people in the world they could call…

            "Yeah, so I'm at my worst in life, and I'm waiting for the one person that I don't want to see right now. All because I know I'm going to get a long lecture about how reckless my actions were and how disappointed he is in me. So what happens? He walks in, sits down next to me silently, then grabs my hand gently, and offers to take me home."

            "That's it?" There is no way that can be the end of it.

            "That's it."

            I look at her, and she has a smile on her face. And there's something in her eyes, again. But this time, it's joy. She's hiding something, something good. "Out with it."

            Her smile grows, "We've been together since that morning."

            All I can do is look at her. She's got to be kidding. That had to be, what, about two months ago? First, how did they keep it from everyone, and second, why didn't she tell me?

            I think about it a little more, and I realize that she's been happy again. And once their secret is out, it'll spread like wildfire, and they'll never get left alone about it. Both she and Grissom are private people, and to have their personal lives talked about when their not there would also drive them nuts. This has been the best course of action for them.  

            I pull her into a huge hug and whisper softly in her ear, "I'm so happy for you."

            She pulls her head back to look me in the eyes, to make sure I'm telling the truth. I am. This is what she's wanted for a long time. And I knew that as soon as she got it, she would be happy.

            For some reason, the beginning of our conversation pops into my head. Damn paranoia. "What made you ask about cheating men earlier? Are you afraid that Grissom…?"

            She interrupts me quickly, "Oh, God no!" I look at her with what I know is my confused face as she blushes slightly, "You know me. I always jump from one topic to another when something pops into my head. It's been bothering me a long time to know why you thought that."

            I begin to laugh as she does. I really do know her; better than I've known anyone.        

            I realize right then and there that she is my best friend in the world, and I wouldn't change a damn thing about her.


End file.
